amnesty NOVEMBER 1982 Volume XII Number 11 international newsletter Al Annual Report 1982 Call for worldwide action against political killings Thousands of people in countries It contains documented facts on all over the world were killed by executions in Iran—more than 2,600 order of their government or with during the year—and the unfair trials that preceded them, "disappearances" Sixty-two-year-old Ruth Rutsch and its complicity, according to infor- her husband, Friedrich, who were AI and pub- and torture in Chile, the continuing mation compiled by drive against all forms of dissent in arrested in February 1982, have been lished in its latest annual report. the Soviet Union, executions in South sentenced to three years and three Al opens the report with a Africa and other developments. Indian months' imprisonment for "treason- call for the world community to peasants in Bolivia, wall-poster writers able passing on of information" face up urgently to the use of in China, objectors to military service (Article 99 of the German Demo- such political killings by govern- in Western Europe, and thousands of cratic Republic's penal code) and ments and says these governments ordinary people all over the world "taking up illegal contacts" (Article are reflected in its 367 pages. The 219). Both articles proscribe sending must not be allowed to evade information out of the country which common denominator is the violation responsibility when they choose is not secret but is, in the words to obliterate suspected opponents. of their fundamental rights as human beings. of Article 99, to the "disadvantage Al says it is determined to campaign of the interests" of the GDR. A/ worldwide against such killing, which considers that these articles con- was often linked to another abuse it Attack on rights tradict the right to "seek, receive has spotlighted—the "disappearance" The report's preface points out that and impart information regardless of of people abducted or arrested by Al last year launched a publicity camp- frontiers" (Article 19 of the Inter- authorities. aign to expose the "disappearance" of national Covenant on Civil and The report contains countiy-by- political opponents at the hands of Political Rights, which has been country summaries of many other government forces. Both "disappear- ratified by the GDR); it has adopted abuses—including torture, the death ances" and unlawful killing by govern- Ruth and Friedrich Rutsch as prison- penalty and imprisonment of people ments, it says, "represent an outright ers of conscience. The information for their ideas or origins—and of the attack on values and rights which the "passed on" in their case appears to struggle to end them. world community has struggled to have been about their son Karl-Heinz establish". Rutsch, who has been in prison In El Salvador, mutilated bodies are since 1973 after attempting to leave found after soldiers or police arrest the GDR without permission. Ruth Beirut massacrepeople who are suspected of opposition Rutsch was sentenced on 24 May On 22 September 1982 Al appealed or who merely live in suspect areas. and her husband on 29 September. to the United Nations Secretary "In Guatemala, thousands of people General, Javier Perez de Cuellar, for described by government representatives Prisoner Releases and Cases a UN investigation to be set up into as 'subversives' and 'criminals' have The International Secretariat learned the massacre of hundreds of Palestin- been shot on the spot or seized and in September of the release of 65 ian and Lebanese civilians in the killed later," the report says. In Syria, prisoners under adoption or investiga- refugee camps of Chatila and Sabra security forces were reported in 1981 tion; it took up 252 cases. in West Beirut between 16 and 18 to have sealed off communities, dragg- September. ed people from their homes and shot It also called on the Israeli them. Also in this issue Government to act rapidly to clarify Reports of killings by troops or Releases, page 2 the circumstances of the killings and police have continued to come from Jamaica hangings, page 7 to cooperate in any international other countries, including India, the Chile torture charge, page 8 investigation. The Lebanese Govern- Philippines, Uganda, Bolivia and Supplement: 'Disappearances' ment was also asked to assist such Colombia. in Guinea an inquiry. See page 4 2 NOVEMBER 1982 Releases . . . Releases . . . Releases . . ed from his job, had been unemployed for three weeks when arrested. Ethiopia South Korea The Supreme Court ruled in April Al as The Ethiopian Government has annou- A total of 18 people adopted by 1982 that the verdict against him was nced that it pardoned and released 716 prisoners of conscience are now known unfounded and he was freed a month prisoners on 11 September, the eighth to have been among the 35 political later, three months early. anniversary of the Ethiopian revolution. prisoners released in South Korea Al knows of only one other case in It has not yet been confirmed how many under the amnesty of 15 August (see which somebody adopted by it as a Newsletter). of those released were political prisoners. September prisoner of conscience has been released Lee Woo-jae, prisoner The released prisoners are reported They include as a result of a revoked conviction0 to include many long-term political of the month in August 1981, who was detainees held since 1974 in the cellars arrested in 1979 and was serving a five- of the former Menelik Palace. Among year sentence after his conviction in those known to have been freed are: the Korea Christian Academy case— Labour camp for Ketemu Yifru, former Minister of the defendants were said to have Commerce; Mamo Tadesse,former indoctrinat&I others with socialist I Vietnamese girl Minister of Finance; and Germatchew ideas and to have attempted to organize Tekle Hawariat. them with the aim of creating a socialist Also reported to have been freed state. Thirteen of the others freed were are former ministers and senior officials students who had served most of their who had served in the Haile Selassie two- or three-year prison sentences administration and had been detained for participating in anti-government at the time of the revolution in 1974. None of the members of the former demonstrations or distributing anti- government leafletsD royal family, who have been held with- out charge or trial since September 1974, are reported to have been released. Malaysia The Ethiopian Government has released a number of political prisoners Forty-seven detainees held without over the past eight years. In 1981, 549 trial under Malaysia's Internal Security prisoners were freed on the occasion of Act—some of them imprisoned since the seventh anniversary of the the late 1960s—were freed on 30 revolution. August in an amnesty announced on the Al has sent a message to the eve of the 25th anniversary of country's Head of State welcoming the Malaysia's independence. Le Thi Som Mai, aged 19, who is re- releasesD At least nine of those released had ported to be detained in a labour camp been adopted by Al as prisoners of in Viet Nam after trying to escape conscience, including: TanHock Hin, illegally from the country. She was Haiti a former politician held since July arrested in February 1982 with a group 1967; EngKwee Ba, detained since of young people. Others in the group Sylvio Claude,prisoner of the month July 1968; and Lim Ge Chow, arrested have been released but she continues to in May 1981, and 21 others are report- in 1971. be held. She and her six brothers and ed to have been pardoned and released Al has written to the Malaysian sisters are reported to have been the following a decree by President Jean- authorities welcoming the releases0 targets of official harassment on a Claude Duvalier issued on 22 September number of occasions because of their and proclaiming an amnesty for politic- parents' status under the pre-1975 al prisoners. South Vietnamese Government. Her Sylvio Claude was serving a six-year USSR father, Tran Da Tu, was a well-known sentence for "offences against the A Soviet German adopted by Al as a poet, broadcaster and journalist security of the state". Under the prisoner of conscience is reported to and her mother, Nha Ca, a distinguished President's decree he and other prison- have been freed prematurely after his novelist. Both were arrested in April ers were given a "complete and total" court conviction had been revoked by 1976 during a government campaign pardon which should have ensured the Supreme Court of the RSFSR. against "decadent" literature. Nha their unconditional freedom—but Genrikh Miller,who has been active Ca was freed in December 1976 but some are said to be currently under Tran Da Tu is still detained without residence surveillée,a strict form of in the movement for Soviet citizens of German origin to be allowed to charge or trial (his case is being investi- surveillance, and to have to report Le thi Som Mai is said emigrate, was sentenced in October gated byA.O. regularly to the authorities. 1981 to one year's imprisonment for to have been sent to camp Dong Phu I, Al has written to the Haitian author- "parasitism". Dong Xoai district, in Song Be province ities welcoming the releases but express- Under Soviet law people may be on 1 April 1982. Duties there are said ing concern at the reported restrictions virgin land for charged with "parasitism" if they have to consist of clearing and asking for the Presidential pardon not been doing "socially useful labour" cult ivation. Several young people to be Implemented fully and for the re- for four consecutive months in any are reported to have died there of maining prisoners of conscience to be year. Genrikh Miller, who was dismiss- malaria and dysentry. released0 NOVEMBER1982 3 Campaign for Prisoners of the Month Each of the people whose story is told below is a prisoner of conscience. Each has been arrested because of his or her religious or political beliefs, colour, sex, ethnic origin or language. None has used or advocated violence. Their continuing detention is a violation of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. International appeals can help to secure the release of these prisoners or to improve their detention conditions. In the interest of the prisoners, letters to the authorities should be worded carefully and courteously. You should stress that your concern for human rights is not in any way politically partisan. In no circumstances should communications be sent to the prisoner.

KABAKISA Matuka, Zaire Présidence de la Republique/ Anatoly MARCHENKO, USSR Kinshasa/Republic of Zaire. A pharmacy student in his mid- A manual labourer and writer twenties he was arrested in aged 44, he is serving a sen- tence of 15 years' imprisonment February 1982, severely beaten and internal exile imposed in and forcibly conscripted into Galvarino IRIGOYEN Alfaro, 1981 for "anti-Soviet agitation the army with 95 other students. Chile and propaganda". A metalworker, he is reported Kabakisa Matuka had been the elected to have been tortured after his When Anatoly Marchenko was tried by leader of Kinshasa University's branch arrest in mid-I980 and is now Vladimir Region Court on 2 to 4 of the ruling party's youth wing, the serving a four-year sentence of September 1981, it was the sixth time Jeunesse du Mouvement populaire de banishment (internal exile) in a since 1958 that he had stood trial. He la Revolution, for more than a year remote village 250 km from told the court he was "pleased" in a when, in January 1982, students at the his home. way—because this time he was being university and at several other institutes tried for something he really did do: Galvarino Irigoyen, married with two of higher education in Kinshasa staged circulating materials, including a book, children, was arrested at his place of a two-day strike for higher grants. articles, some letters and notes. work in Antofagasta on 30 May 1980. The court sentenced him to 10 The government responded by He was one of 33 people detained with- closing the university and other insti- out warrant by the Central Nacional de years' imprisonment in a strict labour tutes and ordering students to return Informaciones (CNI), Chilean secret colony and five years' internal exile. home. Kabakisa and some 95 students police, at about the same time. After serving two terms in prisons from the university and two of the They are reported to have been and camps (1958 to 1960 and 1960 to institutes were arrested and accused taken to secret detention centres and 1966) Anatoly Marchenko produced of organizing the strike. The govern- tortured. They are said to have been My Testimony, thought to be the first ment branded them as "subversives" kept hanging upside down for hours, written account of Soviet prisons and and announced on 4 February 1982 kept naked outside in the cold while labour conditions in the post-Stalin era. that all were immediately being con- being hosed with freezing water and By the time the book was published scripted into the armed forces for two repeatedly given electric shocks; some abroad he had already been imprisoned years. (Up to then students were are said to have been forced to swallow again—sentenced to serve a year in a usually exempt from military service.) excrement. labour colony for "violation of passport Kabakisa and 14 other students Eleven were eventually released. The rules" after writing an open letter were held in a detention centre in other 22 were charged under Decree in July 1968 against Soviet intervention Kinshasa for more than a month. Law 77 with belonging to the Commun- in Czechoslovakia. While in the camp During this time he was repeatedly ist Party and under the Law of he received another two-year sentence interrogated, accused of having links Internal State Security with subversion. for "expressing anti-Soviet views". with opponents of the government and However, Al believes that none partici- He was released in 1971 but re- severely beaten and given electric pated in any activity which involved arrested in 1975—for breaking "sur- shocks. He was then sent to join the the use or advocacy of violence. veillance rules" imposed on him— other conscripted students, who had During their seven-month trial they and sentenced to exile in Chuna. been sent to a special commando were held in Antofagasta Prison; final While there he wrote From Tarusa training camp at Kota-Koli, in sentences were passed in January 1981. to Chuna, the story of his arrest, Zaire's northern Equateur region. Two of the defendants were released for trial, transportation and 53-day The students are kept apart from lack of evidence; the others were sent- hunger-strike. This book was among other soldiers at the camp and are enced to terms of banishment. the writings he was charged with in apparently not allowed to talk to Galvarino Irigoyen was banished to September last year. civilians or be visited by relatives. Many the village of San Felix in the Copiapó Anatoly Marchenko, who is married of them have become seriously ill. region, where he has been joined by his with a nine-year-old son, Pavel, is now Please send courteous letters, pre- family. He has had difficulty in finding in Perm camp No. 35. He has suffered ferably in French, appealing for work and his situation is aggravated by from meningitis, is partially deaf and Kabakisa and the other forcibly con- his wife's poor health. has undergone intestinal surgery twice. scripted students to be released from Please send courteous letters appeal- Please send courteous letters appeal- the army; send your appeals to: ing for his immediate release to: General ing for his release to: B.V. Kravtsov/ Son Excellence le General Mobutu Augusto Pinochet Ugarte/Presidente de Procurator of the RSFSR/Prokuratura Sese Seko/Président-Fondateur du la Repfiblica/Palacio la Moneda/ RSFSR/Kuznetsky Most 13/103031 MPR/President de la Republique/ Santiago/Chile. Moskva/USSR. 4 NOVEMBER 1982 ANNUAL REPORT . . . ANNUAL REPORT . . . ANNUAL REPORT . . . ANNUAL REPORT . . . ANNUAL Annual Report 1982 The new Amnesty International Report 1982, published on 27 October, describes political imprisonment, torture and executions in 121 countries during the calendar year 1981 (see front page article). It is intended as a tool in the growing campaign to stop these abuses of fundamental human rights and a report on the movement's work. The country entries are arranged according to region.

after finishing their sentences. Torture, Africa PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE unfair trials, and treatment apparently Detention of suspected government During 1981 Al groups worked on designed to break prisoners' psycho- opponents without trial continued to behalf of 4,952 individual prisoners logical health were also reported in be widespread and prisoners of con- of conscience or cases under investi- Uruguay. science were held in many countries. gation as prisoners of conscience. In August 1981 Al sent a memoran- Other significant abuses were torture These included 1,703 new cases dum to the Nicaraguan Government on and unfair political trials. taken up during the year. A total trial procedures and the cases of prison- In Uganda, many people were vict- of 1,109 prisoners were released. ers convicted of crimes committed ims of political killings by the army. under the former government ousted in In Ethiopia, the government still failed 1979. to account for people who "disappear- forces, particularly in El Salvador and Action on the USA included publica- ed" in 1979. Guatemala. tion of a report on misconduct by the International standards were violated Against a background of internal Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in several cases in which governments political and military conflict, thous- in connection with criminal trials. By collaborated to deny refugees political ands were unaccounted for or known the end of 1981 no response had been asylum and returned them forcibly to to have been tortured and killed in the received from the government to Ars countries in which they faced imprison- two Central American countries in call for an inquiry. There were also ment or worse. Guineans were repat- 1981. appeals from the movement for an end riated in this way from Ivory Coast and An Al mission interviewed Salvador- to the death penalty: at year-end 924 Liberia. Botswana and Lesotho return- ian refugees in several countries of the people were under sentence of death in ed political fugitives to South Africa. region in August 1981, confirming that the USA. Harsh and dangerous prison condi- El Salvador's military and police forces tions and ill-treatment of prisoners were responsible for extensive violations were reported from a number of count- of the human rights of unarmed Asia ries, often in the cases of prisoners civilians. Political prisoners were being held held without trial. An AI report on Guatemala publish- without charge or trial, often solely Torture was reported from Ethiopia, ed in February 1981 concluded that for the expression of their beliefs, in South Africa, Uganda, Zaire and other government agencies were directly most Asian countries in 1981. Other countries. Among other countries responsible for thousands of killings violations of fundamental human rights where bad conditions or treatment for and abductions. At least 3,200 people in the region included killings by gov- political prisoners were reported were were killed during 1981. ernment security forces and unfair Gabon, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Lesotho, Some 50 "disappearances" were trials. Madagascar and Somalia. reported during the year in nearby Most Asian countries have provision Death penalties imposed by courts Honduras. Ars concerns there also for holding prisoners without charge, were carried out in at least 13 African included reported cooperation by the sometimes for indefinite periods. In countries in 1981. They were again Honduran and Salvadorian military Viet Nam and Laos, thousands were especially frequent in South Africa, against fleeing Salvadorian civilians. held for "re-education"; many prisoners where 96 people were hanged. Elsewhere in the Americas there in China were also in this category. • There were, however, encouraging was a drop in the number of reported Detention or imprisonment without developments in Africa, including "disappearances" at the hands of trial took other forms in Pakistan, unanimous approval at the Nairobi government forces in 1981. The govern- Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, summit meeting of the Organization ments of Argentina and Chile, how- Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, the of African Unity (OAU) in July 1981 ever, had not yet accounted for large Philippines and other countries. of an African Charter on Human numbers of people who "disappeared" There was a welcome drop in the and Peoples' Rights, to come into force in previous years. Other countries number of people held without trial after a majority of OAU states become from which abductions and killings by under internal security laws in party to it. It includes provision for an government forces continued to be Malaysia and Singapore. African Commission on Human and reported included Bolivia, Colombia, In addition to frequent reports of Peoples' Rights. Haiti and Mexico. "disappearances" and killings of sus- In Cuba, political prisoners who had pected government opponents in the completed sentences of up to 20 years Philippines, there were reports of kill- The Americas found themselves arbitrarily resentenc- ings by government forces and deaths The pattern of human rights violations ed for having shown "rebellious" of prisoners in custody from a number in the Americas has been marked in attitudes in prison. of other countries, including Thailand, recent years by thousands of political In Uruguay, too, some political Pakistan, India, Indonesia and Sri killings and abductions by government prisoners were retried or were held Lanka. NOVEMBER 1982 5 Several hundred people were believed involving members of Christian sects MEMBERSHIP to have been put to death in court- which were not registered with the ordered executions in Pakistan. In authorities. Most were sentenced to AI now has more than 350,000 China, according to press reports, at labour camps or internal exile. members, subscribers and support- least 87 people were executed in a two- People were also imprisoned under ers in 154 countries. It has sections week period in August 1981. Al laws restricting freedom of speech in in 41 countries, with groups or appealed during the year against impo- Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German individual members in many others. sition of the death penalty in China, Democratic Republic, Poland and Japan, India, South Korea, Malaysia, Romania. Singapore, Pakistan, Bangladesh and In a number of countries—including a dozen Libyan citizens abroad have other countries. the Federal Republic of Germany, been killed or wounded in assassination At least 15 political prisoners were France, Italy, Switzerland, Greece and attempts. executed in Afghanistan. There were several East European countries—con- AI continued to appeal for infor- allegations of torture and other abuses scientious objectors to military service mation on "disappearances" of political by both sides in the fighting, but in were imprisoned, and adopted by Al prisoners or of presumed political Afghanistan as well as in Kampuchea as prisoners of conscience. opponents in Iraq, Morocco, Syria and East Timor, the fighting and lack Reports were again received from and the People's Democratic Republic of access hampered collection of facts Spain of ill-treatment and torture of of Yemen (PDRY). Some of these on human rights violations. people held incommunicado under people "disappeared" as far back as 1972. An AI report on Pakistan focused on anti-terrorist laws. Reports of torture or ill-treatment the deterioration of respect for human Special procedures or laws applied of prisoners came from many countries rights as independent power was with the declared aim of combating including Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, stripped from civilian courts. Political terrorism raised concern that the rights Israel and the Occupied Territories, imprisonment, torture and arbitrary of accused people could be threatened Iran, Iraq, Libya, Morocco, Syria, arrest were widespread. in Ireland, Italy, the Federal Republic Tunisia, and the PDRY. From India reports continued to of Germany, Spain and the United People imprisoned solely for express- come of police killings, brutality to Kingdom. ing their views included students, political activists, journalists, trade prisoners and torture. In France, abolition of the death penalty and the State Security Court unionists, Islamic fundamentalists and removed two of Ars longstanding members of other religious groups, and Europe concerns. Turkey was the only country advocates of the rights of minority in the Western European community cultural and ethnic groups. European governments upholding dif- to have used the death penalty in AI worked for the release of such ferent political systems broke their recent years but executions were individuals in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, commitments to international human again carried out in the Soviet Union Iran, Iraq, Israel and the Occupied nights standards in reaction to real or and some countries of Eastern Europe. Territories, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, supposed threats to the established Oman, Syria, Tunisia and the PDRY. order in their countries in 1981. In all of these countries except Oman, In Turkey, large-scale arrests and Middle East on which information was lacking, imprisonment were accompanied by there were cases of inadequate trial widespread torture, scores of reported Violations of human rights in the procedure or detention without trial. deaths in custody and increased use of region induded large numbers of Similar cases were reported in Saudi the death penalty. Official figures executions in some countries, political Arabia. published in the Turkish press in killings by governments, the "dis- Regional non-governmental organ- November 1981 showed 29,929 appearance" of prisoners seized or izations working to promote respect prisoners held for political offences. arrested by government forces, unfair for human rights included the Arab In Poland, thousands of supporters trials, detention without trial, and Lawyers Union. The International of the independent trade union federa- torture. Prisoners of conscience were Islamic Council, a European-based tion Solidarity were interned without held throughout the region. organization grouping Muslims from charge after the imposition of martial In Iran, executions rose to more many Islamic countries, proclaimed a law in December. The internments than 2,600 during 1981. Many people Universal Islamic Declaration of were followed by the arrest and trial appear to have been executed without Human Rights and set up an Inter- of people who tried to organize strikes trial. national Islamic Commission on Human or other demonstrations of protest. Several hundred people were report- Rights under the chairmanship of The number of political trials in ed to have been condemned and execut- Ahmed Ben Bella, former president Yugoslavia rose sharply with the ed in Iraq, sometimes for political of Algeria. sentencing of over 300 ethnic Albanians reasons. Executions were also reported The Third Islamic Summit Confer- arrested after demonstrations and of on a smaller scale in Tunisia, Egypt, ence in Taif, Saudi Arabia, at which people in other parts of the country Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the People's most governments in the region were also accused of nationalist activity on Democratic Republic of Yemen, represented, decided to establish an behalf of ethnic or national groups. Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Islamic Court of Justice. Government Charges such as "hostile propaganda" Hundreds of people were reported representatives and legal experts con- were used to imprison people accused killed by government forces in Syria tinued work on a draft document on of criticizing the country's leaders or after summary legal procedures or none human rights in Islam0 political system. at all. In Libya, institutions supporting the Copies of the Amnesty International Report In the Soviet Union, a drive against 1982 may be ordered from Amnesty Inter- dissent which had begun in late 1979 government again vowed to "physically national Publications, 10 Southampton continued unabated. AI took up more liquidate" its enemies; since the first Street, London WC2E 7HF, UK; or from the than 200 new cases, about half of them such call in February 1980, more than section in your country. Cost £5.00 a copy. 6 NOVEMBER 1982 Poland Libya Ex-KOR leaders arrested Students reported dead after Five former leaders of the unofficial Adam Michnik, in an open letter and now disbanded Polish civil rights on 2 September, appealed to "world torture in custody public opinion" and AI "to do all with- organization KOR have been formally Ahmed Ismael Makhlouf, a 31-year-old in your power to ensure that we have arrested and are under investigation by student from Benghazi, and another an open trial in the presence of observ- the authorities on charges of "making student, Naji Bahouia, are reported to ers and lawyers from democratic preparations for the violent overthrow have died under torture at the end of countries". of the Polish socio-political system". July 1982 while in the custody of the Although he supported the call for Four of them had been interned with- security forces in Libya. the 31 August demonstrations, he deni- out charge for almost nine months. The two students are said to have ed that they had been organized by If brought to trial, they will appear been arrested on 7 April 1982 after the interned members of KOR. before a military court under summary demonstrations at Benghazi The arrest of the four was announc- proceedings which provide for a maxi- University. ed the next day. mum sentence of death for this offence Some 200 other students and teach- The authorities announced also that and which deny the accused the right of ers are believed to have been arrested warrants had been issued against certain appeal. The charges are under Articles at the time by order of the university's KOR leaders in hiding and said that 123 and 128 (1) of the Polish Penal Revolutionary Committee. Their fate proceedings in absentia had been started Code. and whereabouts are unknown. against Jan Lipski and Miroslaw The four detainees who had been Al wrote to Colonel Mu'ammar interned are Jacek Kuron, aged 48, a Chojecki, who were out of the country at the time. Gaddafi, Libya's Leader of the Revolu- co-founder of KOR and adviser to the tion, on 6 October calling for an inves- suspended unofficial trade union tigation into the two students' deaths:1 Solidarity; Adam Michnik, aged 36, Medical treatment historian and Solidarity adviser; Henryk Jan Lipski was arrested in Warsaw on Wujec, aged 42, physicist, co-editor of 16 September, the day after he return- KOR's journal Robotnik and member ed trom London, where he had received Central African of Solidarity's National Commission; medical treatment for a heart condition. and Jan Litynski, mathematician and co- He is reported still to need medication. Republic editor of Robotnik On 10 September Al sent a telex The fifth arrested KOR member message to General Wojciech Jaruzelski, Political party is Jan Jozef Lipski, aged 56, writer, Chairman of the Military Council for literary critic and founder member National Salvation, expressing concern leader arrested of the organization. at the arrest of the interned KOR The leader of a political party in the The authorities announced the members and appealing for them to be Central African Republic, the Front decision to prosecute the four interned granted full legal safeguards, including patriotique oubanguien-Parti du travail men after widespread demonstrations access to defence counsel, and to (FPO-PT), was arrested in Bangui dur- on 31 August in which five people died receive a fair and open trial. ing August 1982. Dr Abel Goumba, in clashes with the police. The author- After learning of Jan Lipski's arrest, President of the FPO-PT, was arrested ities said the next day that there was Al issued a similar appeal on his behalf on 17 August, three days after the and called also for him to be given "concrete evidence" that KOR had arrest at Bangui airport of another lead- all the medical treatment he needs0 organized the demonstrations. ing member of the party, Patrice Endjimoungou. Both have been adopted by Al as prisoners of conseience. Two weeks after the arrests the Minister of the Rwanda Interior claimed that Endjimoungou had been carrying subversive letters Forty-three executed written by Dr Goumba. He said the FPO-PT was planning to set up a by firing squad "clandestine revolutionary organiza- tion" in order to overthrow the govern- Forty-three prisoners who had been life imprisonment. He said also that ment and that it was engaged in political sentenced to death after being convict- death sentences passed on other activities, banned since the present ed of common-law crimes were prisoners would be carried out. military government took power in executed by firing squad in Rwanda In March 1982 a representative of September 1981. on 15 September 1982. The executions the Rwanda Government told the Both Dr Goumba and Endjimoungou took place in Kigali and Butare. United Nations Human Rights Comm- are reported to have been transferred Two months earlier, on 22 July, ittee that since 1974 all death senten- to Kassaf military camp in Bangui. They President Habyarimana announced that ces had been commuted to life imprison- are said to be held incommunicado in the death sentences imposed by the ment. During the same period, however, crowded conditions with more than Court of State Security on two prisoners a considerable number of political 100 other political detainees, some of convicted of plotting to overthrow the prisoners are reported to have been whom have been held for between nine government were being commuted to deliberately killed in prison0 and 14 months without trialD NOVEMBER1982 7 Guatemala Seven Jamaicans hanged Four are executed fears for other in cemetery inmates on death row after secret trial "inhuman treatment" within the mean- Four prisoners were executed by firing Seven men who had been under sent- squad in a Guatemalan cemetery on ence of death for some six years were ing of Section 17 of the Jamaican 17 September, reportedly after a secret hanged in Jamaica during September— constitution prohibiting torture or summary trial and conviction for bringing to 14 tht number of people inhuman or degrading treatment or crimes "against national security". executed there since 1980. It is now punishment. The sentences had been announced feared that the authorities may proceed The majority opinion, although re- only the day before and the executions to execute many of the more than 120 jecting the appeals on technical grounds, were carried out despite urgent appeals other prisoners under sentence of death stated that the judges fully accepted for clemency by Al and other inter- in Jamaica. that "long delay in the execution of a national organizations. Noel Riley, Anthony Forbes, Clifton death sentence, especially delay for Irving, Elijah Beckford, Errol Miller, which the condemned man is himself The four were named as Jaime de Vincent O'Sullivan and Enos Henry in no way responsible, must be an la Rosa Rodriguez, Julio Hernandez had been convicted of murder between important factor to be taken into Perdomo, Marcelino Marroquin and March 1975 and November 1976. Their account in deciding whether to exercise Julio Cesar Vasquez Juarez. appeals were dismissed by Jamaica's the prerogative of mercy". They are the fast people known by Court of Appeal between 1975 and Jamaican law provides for a manda- Al to have been tried, convicted and 1977. tory death sentence for people convict- executed under the provisions of All executions in the country were, ed of murder. The Governor-General, Decree Law 46-82, which came into however, suspended from April 1976 in consultation with the Jamaica Privy force on 8 July 1982. Council, has the power to exercise The new decree greatly widened the clemency. range of political crimes for which the In June 1979, following the Senates death penalty may be applied, estab- vote of February that year, the Minister lished military tribunals whose mem- of Justice appointed the Committee bers were appointed directly by the on Capital Punishment and Penal President and. who need not be legally Reform. Although it has since sub- trained to hear the cases under very until 1979, while parliament con- mitted its report to the government, sidered the abolition of the death summary proceedings with no right of its findings and recommendations appeal. penalty. On 30 January 1979 the House of have not been made public. It is, how- ever, known to have recommended that Representatives voted 23 to 20 for Basis of conviction all death sentences imposed before 31 retention, with a recommendation that March 1981 be commuted. The men were reportedly convicted all existing death sentences be reviewed. Eighty-one of those under sentence on the basis of having in their possess- On 9 February 1979 the Senate ion literature produced by one of the voted 10 to five to recommend suspen- of death in Jamaica;vere sentenced before then; 38 of them, like the seven opposition groups in Guatemala, the sion of the death penalty for 18 months (EGP), executed men, were sentenced before Efercito Guerrillero de los Pobres pending a detailed study on it. or during the period in which execut- Guerrilla Army of the Poor. Before their No reprieves were granted in the execution the men are reported to have ions were suspended. above cases, however, and dates for denied belonging to the EGP. Two men scheduled for execution execution were set for May and June The names of those who served on on 30 September (Roosevelt Edwards) 1979. the tribunal which convicted them and 12 October (Fernando Marks) have Five of the seven condemned men have not been made public and all the been granted stays of execution; the sought a ruling from the Judicial proceedings were held in secret—such former on grounds of new evidence, the Committee of the Privy Council in was the secrecy surrounding the case London (which serves as a final appeal latter pending the outcome of an appeal. that it cannot be certain that any pro- court for some Commonwealth count- Please send courteous letters express- ceedings were in fact held. ries and territories) that execution after ing concern about the recent executions, Fourteen other Guatemalans are such a long delay would be "inhuman and appealing for the immediate staying believed to be awaiting trial by special and degrading punishment" in violation of all executions; address your letters military tribunal. of the Jamaican Constitution. to: Hon. Florizel Glasspole/Governor- The appeal was dismissed in a General/Kings House/Kingston/Jamaica; Al wrote to President Efrain Rios judgment given on 28 June 1982 by a August and to: His Excellency Mr Edward Montt on 31 August 1982 indicating majority of three to two (see Seaga/Prime Minister/Jamaica House/ its opposition to the death penalty in Newsletter). Kingston/JamaicaD all circumstances and pointing out The two dissenting judges found various provisions of the new legislation that the appellants had proved that they Death penalty which are in violation of the basic had been subjected to a "cruel and principles of the right to life, the right dehumanizing experience" and that Al has learned of 58 people being to fair trial and the right of appeal "the execution of the respective death sentenced to death in 14 countries established in both Guatemalan legis- sentences in May and June 1979, against and of 86 executions in 12 count- lation and international instruments the background of the lapse of time ries during September 1982. to which Guatemala is a party0 since conviction, would have been

8 NOVEMBER 1982 UN body votes to hold torture hearings Enforcement Officials, which the The United Nations Sub-Commission General Assembly on Prevention of Discrimination and General Assembly adopted in 1979, Protection of Minorities has decided Two significant measures designed to and the two measures now to come that hearings should be held next year increase safeguards for prisoners again before the 37th Session (both were considered by the 36th Session). before its Working Group on Detent- against torture—each considered a high The Code of Medical Ethics is to ion on the incidence of torture through- priority by Al—are to come up again establish clearly that no health per- out the world. for adoption by the United Nations General Assembly at its 37th Session sonnel—in particular doctors—may It has also called for "strong and in New York. participate in practices involving the effective measures to prevent extra- They are the Body of Principles for infliction of torture and other cruel, judicial executions". the Protection of All Persons Under inhuman or degrading treatment or The 1982 annual session of the Sub- Any Form of Detention or Imprison- punishment. Commission, composed of 26 experts ment and the Code of Medical Ethics. The.Body of Principles contains chosen by the Commission on Human When the General Assembly adopted essential safeguards against arbitrary Rights, took place in Geneva on 16 the Declaration against Torture in 1975 arrest and detention. August to 10 September. It adopted a it recognized the need for further Al considers the adoption of these recommendation by its Working Group international standards to ensure adequ- standards essential and urgent and has on Detention that the group "at its ate protection against torture and appealed to all UN member states to next sessional meeting should give other forms of cruel, inhuman or accord them priority and to ensure that special attention to hearing and receiv- degrading treatment or punishment. if changes are found necessary they ing information... concerning the It called, therefore, for the elabora- lead to the strengthening of the existing extent of and facts relating to torture tion of a Code of Conduct for Law texts0 or cruel, inhuman or degrading treat- ment or punishment, unless the Com- mission on Human Rights establishes a Expelled Chilean says CIVI tortured him system for examining such information" During the working group's session A 34-year-old Chilean glass-maker and put on a flight to Sao Paulo. this year, Al had noted the need for trade unionist who says he was inter- He said he had been given no UN action on torture to go beyond rogated and tortured by Chile's secret explanation for what had happened. the major standard-setting steps the police and then expelled from the He later learned that after his arrest UN had taken so far and had stressed country without explanation has appeal- more than a dozen men in civilian the need for those standards to be ed to the Supreme Court in Santiago clothes had searched his home without implemented. to be allowed back home. showing any warrant or identification His wife lodged the appeal on 7 to his wife, who was nine months pregnant at the time. They told her Extrajudicialexecutions September. Speaking at a press con- ference in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on 9 afterwards that he was in the custody Al had also made a major inter- September Silvio Espinoza Sanchez of the CNI. vention before the Sub-Commission said he was detained just after leaving Under Transitory Provision 24 of plenary session drawing attention to his home in Santiago on 24 August, Chile's new constitution, the Minister the problem of extrajudicial executions blindfolded and taken to the basement of the Interior—on the orders of the and the Al-sponsored International of a building which he later learned President—is empowered to order the Conference on Extrajudicial Executions belonged to secret police, the Central arrest and detention of any person with- in Amsterdam (see July 1982 Nacional de Investigaciones(CNI). out charge for np to five days; and, in Newsletter). He was held there for 12 days, he cases where terrorist offences are said AI suggested that the Sub-Commiss- said, blindfolded all the time and to be under investigation, for up to ion urge upon the Commission on interrogated about his and others' 20 days. Human Rights and its Special trade union activities and his political Al often receives reports of suspect- Rapporteur on Summary or Arbitrary affiliations. He is a member of the ed political dissidents being detained Executions "the need for speedy and Chilean Glass Workers Federation. without charge by the security forces effective action by the UN in situations "I was strapped to a [kind of] under this provision and then tor- in which people are being subjected bed and tortured with electric shocks tured before release. to extrajudicial executions or are for two days," he told the press The Minister of the Interior has the threatened with that fate". conference. power to expel Chileans—or to pro- The Sub-Commission, in turn, made On one occasion, he said, he lost hibit their entry—under the same much the same recommendation to the consciousness and was resuscitated with provision. People affected by arbitrary UN. massage and an injection administered decisions taken by authorities under by a doctor. However, it did not act on an inter- the provision have no right of appeal to vention by Al on the death penalty, From his cell (measuring two the courts against them0 in which the organization had argued metres by one), he said, he could hear that the failure of some UN member the screams of other men and women AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PUBLICA- TIONS, 10 Southampton Street, London states to adhere to the stated restrictions prisoners. On 4 September, still blindfolded WC2E 7H1, England. Printed in Great and safeguards with respect to the Britain by Shadowdean Limited, Unit 2, imposition of the death penalty was a and with nothing more than the clothes 37 Briscoe Road, Colliers Wood, SW19. major obstacle to its abolition in all he was wearing and an identity card, he Available on subscription at £5 (US S12.50) countries. was taken to Santiago airport and later per calendar year. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER SUPPLEMENT NOVEMBER 1982 amnesty dorinternational supplement

There are grave fears about the fate of nearly 3,000 prisoners detained on political grounds in Guinea during the 1970s. Al has no recent reports of them being seen alive in custody and eye-witness testimonies received by the organization strongly suggest that all may now be dead, the victims of secret mass executions, systematic starvation or appalling prison conditions. The fate of the 'disappeared' in Guinea

Al has sent the authorities in welcome development even though the Guinea the names of 78 political authorities failed to shed light on the prisoners it believes have died in "disappeared" Guinean prisons and called on the government to account for them and some 2,800 others who have Mass arrests "disappeared" since their arrest in the 1970s. and the Many are believed dead as a 'permanent plot' result of execution, torture, delibe- rate starvation and inhuman prison No fewer than 14 "plots against conditions. Al has specific reports the revolution" have allegedly on the deaths of each of the 78 been discovered by the authorities named on a list submitted to the in Guinea since independence in Guinean authorities last year. 1958 and several thousand people AI made its appeal public after the have been detained and accused Guinean authorities failed to respond of "counter-revolutionary" or to the list handed over by its delegates "fifth column" activities. during a visit in December 1981. President Sekou Toure has frequent- Of some 4,000 prisoners reported ly stated that a "permanent plot'' to have been arrested for political rea- exists to overthrow his government and sons from 1969 to 1976, about 100 install an administration more political- were said by the authorities to have ly favourable to the "imperialist" been executed and up to 1,000 are Diallo Telli, arrested in 1976 and powers—particularly, according to believed to have been released. The since "disappeared". .. he is a former him, France and the Federal Republic fate of approximately 2,900—most Guinean Ambassador to the United of Germany. of them never tried—is unknown. A/ Nations and the USA, as well as former has no recent reports of any of them Minister of Justice and first Secretary Although violent attempts to over- throw tne Guinean Government have being seen alive in custody. General of the Organization of African undoubtedly taken place, the threat The movement has received reliable Unity. of external intervention has been used reports that some prisoners died after on many occasions by the authorities being put on what was known in the AI has received eyewitness testimon ., to justify the suppression of all forms prisons as "la diete noire" (the black on frequent deaths of prisoners held of internal dissent and to imprison diet)—denial of food and water until in overcrowded, insanitary conditions several thousand of its real or alleged death. This was reported to have at Camp Boiro, in the capital Conakry; critics. happened to prisoners who failed to Camp Keme Bourairna, in Kindia, and "confess" under torture. elsewhere during the 1970s. The greatest number of arrests took Many were secretly executed. In • The fate of the "disappeared" was place after an abortive armed attack on January, July and August 1971 large one of the subjects raised by two Al Conakry by Portuguese forces and numbers of political detainees were delegates who visited Conakry from exiled Guineans in November 1970. taken from prisons all over Guinea 16 to 23 December 1981 and met Soon afterwards, the authorities began and never seen again. government leaders, including President arresting "internal reactionaries" and Many others, underfed and usually Sekou Toure. The mission was Ars "fifth columnists", who, they alleged, lacking any medical care, are believed first contact with Guinean authorities had helped plan or execute the attack. to have died of malnutrition and in nearly 15 years, and the organiza- By the end of 1971 some 3,500 disease. tion considers this an important and people were reportedly detained, in- SUPPLEMENT N\OVEMBER 1982 AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER 3 2 AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER SUPPLEMENT NOVEMBER 1982 to witnesses, the screams and groans cluding 16 government ministers (more 'DISAPPEARANCES' IN GUINEA ... some of the thousands of prisoners whose fate remains unknown of the starving prisoners could often be than half the government at the time of heard throughout the prison block at the attack), five former ministers, • Camp Boiro. several provincial governors, a large Newly arrived prisoners in Camp number of civil servants, most of the Boiro were systematically starved for high-ranking officers of the Guinean periods usually lasting between three army, members of the professional and five days. Afterwards many prison- classes, traders and farmers. ers were so physically and mentally In January 1971 the alleged "con- reduced that they were prepared to fessions" of a number of prominent "confess" at their first interrogation. prisoners, known to have been extract- Those who were not were tortured and ed under torture, were broadcast on deprived of food and water for longer radio, and the various structures of the periods. Parti country's sole political party, the According to information received (PDG), the democratique de Guinee by AI, prisoners destined by the author- Guinea Democratic Party, were asked ities to be starved to death under the to pronounce their verdict on the "diete noire" had the letters "DN" guilt of the prisoners and recommend y unat written in charcoal on their cell doors. sentences. Those to be starved for shorter periods Before the verdicts were passed had a "D" chalked on the door. senior government officials called on the population to impose heavy sentences. Ismael Toure, a government Other torture minister and a brdther of the President, Up to 100 prisoners are unofficially is reported to have declared on the reported to have died either under radio: "You have the enemy in your other forms of torture or as a direct hands.. . crush the vermin". result of such torture. Methods used Not surprisingly, all of the accused are reported to have included the were found guilty by the PDG. application of electric shocks to the The Popular National Assembly, head, limbs and genitals, severe beat- Guinea's parliament, was convened as a ings with fists, sticks and whips, and Supreme Revolutionary Tribunal and me• - burning with cigarettes. passed final verdicts and sentences: Torture victims have also had their 92 people were sentenced to death heads immersed in water until they and 58 people received (33 in absentia) lost consciousness and have been hung sentences of life imprisonment with up by the ankles for long periods. Many hard labour. prisoners suffered deep lacerations and Pictured above are some of the 78 prisoners whose names appeared on a list Al submitted to the Guinean authorities last year — Al believes that all have died in custody partial paralysis of the limbs after being 'Confessions' broadcast for the most part untried, were remov- bound tightly with wire for hours. ambassador. Between June and August 1976 A second spate of "popular trials" ed from various prisons throughout AI has received consistent reports Shortly after the defeat of the some 500 Peuhl were arrested. New What happened began in July 1971, when further "con- Guinea and transported to secret indicating strongly that the 78 "dis- fessions" were broadcast daily over the November 1970 invasion, the author- "confessions" of "counter-revolution- appeared" prisoners whose names the ary" activities, known to have been to those who places of execution. radio, and local and regional PDG ities announced that 29 prisoners, As many as several hundred prisoners organization submitted to the Guinean extracted under torture, were broad- structures were called on to deliver arrested in 1969 following the alleged were taken from their cells in Camp authorities were killed in mass execu- cast and published in Guinea. 'disappeared'? verdicts and sentences. discovery of two other plots and Boiro, and were never seen or heard of tions, starved to death under the "diete sentenced at the time to long terms By October 1971, 128 cases were An executive body, the National In late 1980 the last 16 survivors again. It is reported that large numbers noire" or died under torture. of imprisonment, had now been sen- apparently tried in this fashion. Council of the Revolution, was con- of the thousands of prisoners who of prisoners held in Keme BouraiMa Large numbers of other prisoners tenced to death for complicity in the Although some of the prisoners were vened as a Revolutionary Tribunal had been detained since 1969, camp, and in the Alpha Yaya and are known to have died as a direct re- invasion. reportedly sentenced to death, most of and resolved in advance that all prison- 1971 or 1976 were released from Samory camps, in Conakry, were sult of the very harsh conditions of No trial preceded this new sentenc- the sentences imposed were never ers convicted of involvement in the Camp Boiro prison. No other also taken away for execution on the imprisonment, particularly at Camps publicized. ing and no evidence was produced to "Peuhl conspiracy" would be sentenc- prisoners known by AI to have same night. Several other mass execut- Boiro and Keme Bouracma. In both During these grossly unfair "trials" justify the accusation against the 29 ed to death. been arrested on these occasions ions took place in 1971, mainly in places, prisoners were held in grossly the accused were not only denied the prisoners who were being held in Camp overcrowded and insanitary conditions, are believed to be alive in prison July and August. right to defence counsel but were not Boiro at the time of the invasion. No trials and were poorly fed. Medical facilities allowed to attend the hearing of their Four other prisoners sentenced in today. The fate of the remaining were virtually non-existent and many However, no trial proceedings are The Vidte noire' own case. 1969 have "disappeared" in prison thousands of untried and unsent- prisoners are believed to have died believed to have taken place and no After the waves of arrests in 1970- The number of those tried and and are believed to have been extra- enced prisoners is not known. from malnutrition and disease. In a publicity was given to any sentences 1971 and 1976, the "diete noire" sentenced (even in the manner described judicially executed. Eye-witness testimonies suggest six-month period in 1974, for example, which may have been handed down. was reportedly inflicted on prisoners above) represented a small minority A second major wave of arrests strongly that all may now be who proved insufficiently "coopera- over 250 deaths were unofficially of the total number arrested in 1970 took place in 1976, when President Among those arrested and "dis- reported in one section of Camp Boiro. dead, either as a result of torture, tive" during the torture sessions which and 1971. Many of the detainees in Sekou Toure announced that an appeared" were such prominent secret mass executions or because accompanied interrogation and who In the course of Ars mission to 1970 and 1971 have "disappeared" attempt on his life by a young member individuals as Diallo Telli, former they were deliberately starved were unwilling to "confess" to being Guinea, its delegation submitted to including, for example, Aribot of the Peuhl (or Rdani) ethnic group Guinean Ambassador to the United to death. the authorities a list of 78 "disappear- Souleymane,nicknamed "Aribot had been foiled. The President is re- Nations and the USA, as well as form- members of an international conspiracy against the government. Most prisoners ed" prisoners, known not to have been Soda", a businessman and official of ported to have declared: "We will er Minister of Justice and first Secretary on the "diete noire" are said to have sentenced to death and not reported the PDG;Bangoura Karim,former annihilate them (the Peuhl) immediate- General of the Organization of African Secret executions died within 15 days after suffering to have been released, and appealed for minister and ambassador; and Keita ly, not by race war, but by radical Unity (OAU); and Drame Alioune, On the night of 25 January 1971 extreme pain and distress. According information regarding their fate. The Fadiala,magistrate and former revolutionary war." former minister and ambassador. large numbers of political prisoners, 4 AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER SUPPLEMENT NOVEMBER 1982 authorities agreed to supply this infor- The Guinean constitution of 1963 mation within months of the mission, guarantees the rights to freedom from but also stated that the delegation Visit to Camp arbitrary arrest, to defence counsel would not be given information on Boiro Prison before a tribunal, and to freedom of prisoners who had died in prison. expression. The Guinean penal code In its 1981 annual report AI stated specifies penalties to be imposed that conditions at Camp Boiro against state officials who carry out Incommunicado prison had become less harsh; in arbitrary arrests and provides that no particular, nutrition had improved arrested person shall be held for detention and there was less overcrowding. longer than 72 hours without judicial During its visit to Guinea, the sanction. without trial AI delegation was allowed to visit Camp Boiro prison and interview An unknown number of real or five prisoners of its own choice, alleged opponents of the govern- without prison officials being pre- Political trials ment are reported to have been sent. (The delegation stressed to Of the thousands arrested for detained incommunicado in the authorities that this visit did political reasons since independ- Guinea for long periods without not constitute a detailed inspection ence, a small number have been trial—estimates of the number of existing conditions of imprison- tried by non-judicial bodies such ment, which could oitly be under- of these detainees range from as, for example, the National 70 to several hundred. taken by competent bodies such as the International Committee of the Revolutionary Assembly or sup- During its December 1981 mission, Red Cross (ICRC). The authorities reme organs of the ruling PDG, A I expressed to the authorities its told the delegation that the ICRC convened as Revolutionary concern about such long-term detention would not be allowed to visit Tribunals. without trial and appealed for the prisons in Guinea.) The procedures used by these tri- release or the prompt trial, depending Four of the prisoners inter- bunals fell far short of internationally- on the case, of 22 named political viewed were arrested in August recognized standards for a fair trial. detainees. AI believes that none of 1977 and the fifth in August The accused were denied defence these detainees has been tried and that 1979. The confidentiality of inter- counsel or the right to present their some of them are prisoners of con- views carried out in such circum- own defence. In most cases, they were science. A list containing the names of stances will be respected by AI— not allowed to be present at the hear- these 22 detainees was submitted to but it can be revealed that all five ings—and their "confessions" were the authorities by the delegation. prisoners declared that they were brought before the tribunals in either The authorities told Ars delegation in good health and that the quality written form or by means of tape that each of the 22 detainees had of the food provided to prisoners recordings. been tried, convicted and sentenced— had improved substantially in the These "confessions" were in most and they agreed to provide the organ- last few years. ization with information on the judicial cases obtained by a body known as the status Of each detainee in the months "Commission révolutionnaire", Revolu- after the mission. They also stated that prison shortly after their arrest. Al tionary Commission, composed of high- there were no prisoners of conscience has appealed for the prompt trial or ranking members of the PDG and of in Guinea, and that political prisoners release of the remaining four detainees. the government, which met within the there were guilty of involvement or Up to 100 people were arrested major centres of political detention. complicity in violent attempts to over- after a grenade exploded during a public Many detainees are known to have throw the government. performance at the Palais du Peuple, "confessed" under torture, or follow- At the time of going to press Al People's Palace, in Conakry in May ing several days of total deprivation had received no information on the 1980. of food and water. 22 detainees. In February 1981 the authorities The authorities told Ars delegation Most of them were arrested between announced that an attempt to cause that the exceptional nature of the 1977 and 1981. explosions at Conakry airport had tribunals and the procedures used by been foiled, and up to 100 people them was justified by the exceptional In August 1977 up to 50 people were reportedly arrested. nature of the circumstances in which were detained in Conakry and other Most of these two latest groups of they were convened. The authorities major towns after demonstrations by detainees were reportedly released stated that the Revolutionary Tribunals market women against the activities of after interrogation, but some 50 were permanent bodies, which are the Police economique, Economic remained in detention without trial. empowered to hear all cases involving Police, which enforced a government Al has appealed to the authorities for offences against the security of the ban on private trading. Al has appealed the prompt trial or release of nine of state. to the authorities for the release or them, including Barry Mouctar, a Information available to Al prior trial of four named detainees held since Guinean exile extradited forcibly and to the mission suggests strongly that August 1977. extrajudicially from the Ivory Coast the Revolutionary Commission and At least 10 people were arrested in in April 1981. the security forces are subject to no August 1979, after which the authorities The detention without trial of poli- limitations or controls in the field of claimed to have discovered a plot to tical prisoners contravenes both Guinean political detention. People arrested for destroy public buildings with explosives. internal legislation and international political reasons are reportedly denied Six of the detainees are reported to legislation (such as the International any access to the judiciary and remain have been subjected to the "diete Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in detention solely at the orders of noire" and to have died in Camp Boiro which was signed by Guinea in 1978). the executive arm of government